A crosslinked olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer is an energy and resource saving elastomer, and in particular, has been used for automobile parts, industrial machinery parts, electrical and electronic machinery parts, construction materials and the like as a replacement of a natural rubber.
The crosslinked olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer is widely known as disclosed in detail in the literature [see “A. Y. Coran et al., Rubber Chemistry and Technology,” Vol. 53 (1980), p. 141].
Meanwhile, a non-crosslinked or partially crosslinked olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer is described in, for example, JP-B Nos. 53-21021, 55-18448, 56-15741, 56-15742, 58-46138, 58-56575, 59-30376, 62-938, 62-59139 and the like.
The non-crosslinked or partially crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer has excellent rubbery features (permanent elongation, permanent compression, etc.), heat resistance and the like, but lacks abrasion resistance and scratch resistance, so that the replacement for soft polyvinyl chloride is not achieved. Thus, there has been a demand for producing an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer composition having excellent abrasion resistance and scratch resistance, which can replace soft polyvinyl chloride without involving problems in the environment, waste treatment and the like.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a syndiotactic propylene-based polymer composition, which exhibits performances of a conventional non-crosslinked or partially crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer and further has excellent abrasion resistance and flexibility.